This family likely had its origin early in the Paleogene period (66-23 mya) after the western half of Gondwana had separated into the continents of Africa and South America, before the divergence of African and New World lineages c. 30-35 mya. It is estimated that the New World parrots (Arinae) and by implication Old World parrots, last shared a common ancestor with the Australian parrots (Cacatuidae) c. 59 mya.[4] The data place most of the diversification of psittaciforms around 40 mya, after the separation of Australia from West Antarctica and South America.[5][6] Divergence of Psittacidae from the ancestral parrots resulted from a common radiation event from what was then West Antarctica into South America then Africa via late Cretaceous land bridges that survived through the Paleogene.[7]

The recently revised taxonomy of the family Psittacidae, based on molecular studies, recognizes the sister clade relationship of the Old World Psittacini and New World Arini tribes of subfamily Psittacinae,[8] which have been raised to subfamily ranking and renamed Psittacinae and Arinae. Subfamily Loriinae and the other tribes of subfamily Psittacinae are now placed in superfamily Psittacoidea of all true parrots which includes family Psittacidae.[9]

Like most parrots the Psittacidae are primarily seed eaters. There is some variation in the diet of individual species, with fruits, nuts, leaves and even insects and other animal prey being taken on occasion by some species. The lorikeets are predominately nectar feeders; many other parrots will drink nectar as well. Most Psittacidae are cavity nesting birds which form monogamous pair bonds.

They have a beak with a characteristic curved shape, the jaw with a mobility slightly higher than where it connects with the skull, and a generally upright position. They also have a large cranial capacity and are one of the most intelligent bird groups. They live in tropical areas, are good fliers and skillful climbers on branches of trees.

Some species can imitate the human voice and other sounds, although they do not have vocal cords - instead possessing a vocal organ at the base of the trachea known as the syrinx.

Many species are defined as endangered species, although besides some not globally threatened species, locally are extinct in great available areas.

This condition is mainly due to permanent alteration of their habitat: depletion, destruction and fragmentation, hunting for being considered a threat to crops and because they have historically suffered the capture of chicks and juveniles from communal nest to be sold as pets. But there are a number of different threats: To make space for more agricultural land, large areas of forest are cut down, taking away its habitat. Wild animals populations are stealing, killing and poaching illegally taking wild animals contrarily to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws. Hunting or capture includes the destruction of nests, egg collecting and capturing young. This violations of hunting laws and regulations are punished by law in these countries, but in practice the actions go unpunished. This combination of factors extirpated the species from most of its range from the early years of the 20th century. Of the animals removed from the wild to be sold, very few survive during capture and transport, and those who fail to do so, usually can not resist and they die by the poor conditions of captivity, poor diet and stress. Trapping wild parrots for the pet trade, as well as hunting, habitat loss and competition from invasive species, has diminished wild populations, with parrots being subjected to more exploitation than any other group of birds.[1] Measures taken to conserve the habitats of some high-profile charismatic species have also protected many of the less charismatic species living in the same ecosystems.[2]

The researcher Irene Pepperberg has published work on the learning capacity of an African grey parrot named Alex,[3] that was trained to use words in order to identify objects, describing, counting, and even answer complex questions, such as "How many red squares are there? "(with an accuracy of 80%). However, some researchers argue that parrots merely repeat words without thought of meaning.

^de Kloet, RS; de Kloet SR (2005). "The evolution of the spindlin gene in birds: Sequence analysis of an intron of the spindlin W and Z gene reveals four major divisions of the Psittaciformes". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution36: 706-721. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.03.013.